Chairman refuses to allow an item into the agenda

[Guest bamagirl]

I am an elected board of education member.  I have formally requested that a topic be included under new business on our agenda.  The chairman refused to include the topic.  What is my recourse?

[puzzling]

First ask why your topic cannot be included in the agenda.

Education board I presume have special rules and laws to obey.

Under RONR first of all an agenda is not promoted but even then the send round agenda is only a proposal, it is the assembly itself who decides by majority what is on the agenda or not.

 

[Gary Novosielski]

On 7/15/2023 at 4:31 PM, Guest bamagirl said:

I am an elected board of education member.  I have formally requested that a topic be included under new business on our agenda.  The chairman refused to include the topic.  What is my recourse?

It will depend upon the rules that determine who compiles your agenda, and whether the board as a whole can vote to amend it.  If the rules in RONR apply, a majority vote of the board is all that is required to add an item, but with public bodies, the rules often vary widely from state to state.

[Josh Martin]

On 7/15/2023 at 3:31 PM, Guest bamagirl said:

I am an elected board of education member.  I have formally requested that a topic be included under new business on our agenda.  The chairman refused to include the topic.  What is my recourse?

So far as RONR is concerned, your recourse would be to move to amend the agenda when the agenda is pending for approval. Under RONR, a majority vote is sufficient to do so.

Since this is a public body, however, you will also need to check your board's rules and possibly applicable law.

[Guest Debbie E]

Check your Board operating procedures. In Texas, the BOPs usually provide that the Board President and Superintendent create the agenda but two board members may request that an item be included. 
 

[Gary Novosielski]

On 9/18/2023 at 9:16 PM, Guest Debbie E said:

Check your Board operating procedures. In Texas, the BOPs usually provide that the Board President and Superintendent create the agenda but two board members may request that an item be included. 
 

Those two members would be referred to as a mover and a seconder, so this rule comports well with those found in RONR.

[Rob Elsman]

Public bodies subject to open meeting laws must sometimes have to post a notice of the meeting beforehand and include an "agenda" of the items of business to be transacted. How and when items of business come to be included in this agenda is a matter subject to the relevant law or ordinance.  The assistance of an attorney may be required to help with this issue.

[Guest Carlos]

Looking to confirm three points:

First, that unlike during regular Board meeting, an ANNUAL meeting entitles anyone within the "General membership" to make a motion from the Floor.

Second, that the motion to (only) CHANGE the order of the agenda would be appropriate in this scenario

Finally, what (if any) "caveats" are there to this as there will be pushback regardless of the answer!

I am dictating this and have a friend writing as I have vision issues.  IF you have time, any supporting citations would be extremely helpful!

[Guest Carlos]

A more general question:

1.  Unlike w/ a Board mtg., a general member can make a motion from the floor during an ANNUAL meeting, correct?

2.  A motion to change only the ORDER of an agenda, is allowed, correct?

3.  Could you point to a specific cite that supports this?  

Believe it or not, this continues to be a red-hot issue months later...smh.

Thank you!

[Joshua Katz]

On 9/24/2023 at 11:56 AM, Guest Carlos said:

First, that unlike during regular Board meeting, an ANNUAL meeting entitles anyone within the "General membership" to make a motion from the Floor.

 

Yes, but I'm not comfortable with the comparison. The board meeting is a meeting of the board. The annual meeting, as you've described it, is a meeting of the membership. That's the distinction, not how often they take place. At any meeting of any assembly, the members of that assembly (unless a rule says otherwise) may conduct business. At a board meeting, that means the board. At a membership meeting, that means the membership.

On 9/24/2023 at 11:56 AM, Guest Carlos said:

Second, that the motion to (only) CHANGE the order of the agenda would be appropriate in this scenario

 

When the agenda is pending for adoption, if the rules in RONR apply (as opposed to, say, some applicable procedural law) it may be amended by a majority vote. When it has been adopted, it may be amended by a motion to amend something previously adopted, which requires a 2/3 vote of a majority of the entire membership voting in the affirmative, either of which will suffice. This is true at any meeting, board or membership.

On 9/24/2023 at 11:56 AM, Guest Carlos said:

Finally, what (if any) "caveats" are there to this as there will be pushback regardless of the answer!

 

Well, the biggest caveat is unless your rules say otherwise.

On 9/24/2023 at 12:04 PM, Guest Carlos said:

1.  Unlike w/ a Board mtg., a general member can make a motion from the floor during an ANNUAL meeting, correct?

 

Yes, it's a meeting of the membership so members may conduct business.

On 9/24/2023 at 12:04 PM, Guest Carlos said:

2.  A motion to change only the ORDER of an agenda, is allowed, correct?

 

An agenda can be amended any way you wish.

Finally, this should not have been grafted onto an unrelated thread. Please post as a new topic.